[Al Ahram] Tunisian security forces hunting gunnies that killed a policeman near the Algerian border this week have tossed in the clinkDrop the rosco, Muggsy, or you're one with the ages! 11 suspects, a security official said on Wednesday.
"Eleven men, bearded ones, were captured, and another one is still on the run," the official told AFP, using the word "bearded" to designate Islamist orcs.

On Monday, gunnies shot and killed Anis Jlassi, head of the cop shoppe in the western region of Kassarine and maimed four of his men.

Security forces had been hunting for the gunnies near Dernaya.

At the beginning of the operation, the security services said they were seeking five "bearded" men and that they had located their camp, where an item of Algerian origin and a Tunisian SIM card were discovered.

Earlier on Wednesday, a security official said Tunisian forces had lost track of the gang.

Meanwhile,...back at the pool hall, Peoria Slim swung his cue at Hurley's head... the interior ministry said security forces defused on Tuesday an bomb that a man had left on a bus in Kairouan in central Tunisia. It did not provide any other details.

Clashes, strikes and attacks by hardline Islamists have multiplied across Tunisia in the run-up to the second anniversary of the start of Tunisia's revolution, which will be marked on Monday.

Members of Tunisia's orc Salafist movement, thought to number between 3,000 and 10,000, have been implicated in numerous acts of violence since last year's revolt.

"Two traffic coppers inside the vehicle were seriously maimed," along with two coppers who were posted outside the station, he added.

Jibril said preliminary investigations suggested the blast was caused by a suitcase full of explosives.

"We still do not know if the bomb was placed in front of the station or in the car," he continued.

Another officer, Ezzedin al-Fazzani, said the car was "completely wrecked" by the kaboom, which left a large crater in front of the station and partly damaged the building's facade.

Security forces deployed to the scene to secure the perimeter and scan the area for any other explosives, an AFP journalist at the scene said.

Benghazi, cradle of the 2011 revolt that toppled veteran strongman Muammar Qadaffy...a reminder that a single man with an idea can change an entire nation, usually for the worse..., has recently witnessed several kabooms and a wave of attacks targeting coppers and military officers.

The new authorities, who are struggling to rebuild the national army and form a professional police, have failed to bring the perpetrators to justice.

[An Nahar] Unknown attackers fired at a convoy transporting United Nations...Parkinson's Law on an international scale... personnel east of the Libyan capital on Wednesday, a U.N. spokeswoman told Agence La Belle France Presse, adding that no one was hurt.

"Yes, indeed there has been an incident. A U.N. convoy was shot at. There were no injuries," said Radia Achouri, confirming reports that the attack took place in Khoms, 100 kilometers (60 miles) east of Tripoli....a confusing city, one end of which is located in Lebanon and the other end of which is the capital of Libya. Its chief distinction is being mentioned in the Marine Hymn...This is the second attack on a U.N. convoy in Libya this year.

On April 10, an bomb was thrown at a convoy carrying Ian Martin, then head of the U.N. mission to Libya, wounding one person.

Security is the biggest challenge faced by the North African nation in the wake of a conflict that toppled strongman Muammar Qadaffy... the like of whose wardrobe will never be seen again. At least that's what we hope... last year.

[An Nahar] An Omani appeals court upheld on Wednesday jail sentences ranging from six months to one year against 23 activists convicted for defaming the sultan and taking part in pro-reform protests last year.

The court in Muscat confirmed a one-year jail term against 11, including writers and bloggers and a young woman, accused of insulting the sultan and cyber crimes, ONA state news agency said.... and if you can't believe the state news agency who can you believe?The activists were sentenced in August but are out on bail. They were each ordered to pay a fine of 200 rials ($550) at the time.

The court also confirmed six-month jail terms against 11 other activists convicted of taking part in an unauthorized public gathering and ordered them to pay each a 200-rial fine, ONA said.

Meanwhile,...back at the Esquimeau village Jack was learning how to rub noses with Nootka's wife...... the court also upheld the suspension of a six-month jail term against a man convicted of insulting the sultan.

The defendants are part of a group of 36 activists tossed in the slammerKeep yer hands where we can see 'em, if yez please! in June for demanding political reforms in the Gulf state that has been ruled by Sultan Qaboos for the past 42 years.

The usually calm Oman was hit by a wave of protests last year demanding political reforms. Riot police dispersed the demonstrations with force.

Sultan Qaboos responded by reshuffling the cabinet and increasing the powers of the consultative assembly.

Three suspects have been arrested for allegedly helping a female suicide bomber kill an influential moderate Muslim leader in Russia's Republic of Dagestan.

Officials in the North Caucasus republic said on December 12 that the suspects escorted the bomber to the home of Dagestan's leading Muslim Sufi cleric, Said Afandi Atsayev, in August. Atsayev and six others were killed in the attack. A provincial spokesman said the suspects were detained on December 9 during anti-terror raids on three villages.

Several attacks on moderate Muslim leaders in Dagestan followed Atsayev's murder.

[Dawn] Authorities in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa have sacked 11 jail wardens after declaring them responsible for a prison break incident which freed nearly 400 prisoners, including the mastermind of an assassination attempt on former President Pervez Musharraf.

The Pakistani Taliban said it was behind the brazen assault in April on the prison in Bannu, claiming the armed militants had inside information.

The KP Home Department took the decision under Rule 14 of the Efficiency and Discipline Rules 2011 after hearing and assessing the replies of the employees in response to show cause notices served on them, said the document.

Khyber Pakhtunkhawa Prisons Department terminated the services of the 11 jail wardens on account of "their involvement and their gross misconduct" in the worst jail break incident in Pakistan's history, said a communiqué issued on Wednesday by the KP Home Department.

The attack was the biggest jail break incident in the Pakistan's history wherein over 200 heavily armed militants, comprising locals and foreigners, stormed the prison, freeing over hundred imprisoned Taliban fighters -- among them the high profile Adnan Rashid said to be the mastermind on the suicide attack on Musharraf.

Rashid, a former junior technician of Pakistan Air Force, was convicted after a bomb planted under a bridge in Rawalpindi near Islamabad in December 2003 exploded moments after the passing of Musharraf's motorcade.

Besides Rashid, the escaped convicts included 20 other prisoners on death row.

[Dawn] At least two people bit the dust on Wednesday after a bomb went kaboom! near a local restaurant in a busy locality in Bloody Karachi...formerly the capital of Pakistain, now merely its most important port and financial center. It may be the largest city in the world, with a population of 18 million, most of whom hate each other and many of whom are armed and dangerous..., Pakistain's commercial capital, DawnNews reported.

According to initial reports, the loud kaboom shook the Muzzafarabad colony area of Landhi, injuring an additional six people.

Eight people were initially said to have been injured. However,there's no worse danger than telling a mother her baby is ugly... it was later reported that two of the maimed died while being shifted to the hospital.

Initial reports also suggested that the bomb was placed near the wall of Ghareeb Nawaz hotel, a local restaurant in the busy neighbourhood.

[Al Ahram] Shootings and bombings killed six Iraqi security forces members and an academic on Wednesday, while an inmate detonated explosives in a Storied Baghdad...located along the Tigris River, founded in the 8th century, home of the Abbasid Caliphate... prison in an attempted suicide kaboom, officials said.
Gunmen killed four police near Fallujah,... the City of Mosques, which might have somthing to do with why it's not called Center of Prosperity or a really nice place to raise your kids... west of Storied Baghdad, a police captain and a medical source said, while gunnies in Mahmudiyah, south of the capital, shot intelligence service Captain Muntasser Abdul Rizzaq, according to an interior ministry official.

A doctor said Rizzaq later died in Mahmudiyah Hospital.

Gunmen armed with silenced weapons killed a policeman at a checkpoint east of djinn-infested Mosul in north Iraq, a police officer and a doctor said.

And a magnetic "sticky bomb" killed a department head in the College of Agriculture on the Tikrit University campus, a police lieutenant colonel and a doctor said.

The interior ministry official also said that an inmate belonging to Al-Qaeda went kaboom! in the prison in central Storied Baghdad, wounding three guards and a fellow prisoner.

"The prisoner was able to gather the explosives over a number of days" and apparently formed them into an boom belt, the official said, without providing details on the source of the explosives.

A police officer confirmed that the bomber survived the blast and was taken to Al-Kindi hospital.

Justice ministry front man Haidar al-Saadi said in an emailed statement that the bomber, named as Ahmed Majid Hamid al-Shammari, had been sentenced to death under Iraq's anti-terrorism law, and that he used fuel from cigarette lighters in the attack.

The bombing came a day after prisoners were allowed family visits, Saadi said, without specifying if Shammari's family had visited him, or if it was suspected that materials used in the attack had been smuggled in that way.

Prisons in Iraq are periodically hit by escape attempts, uprisings and other unrest.

[Debkafile] A loud explosion was heard Thursday morning from the Philadelphi corridor linking the Gaza Strip to Sinai. A large plume of smoke was seen from the Israeli side of the Kerem Shalom border crossing. No further details as yet.

Red wire-green wire problem?
Butter-fingered Abdul dropped a detonator in a tunnel?
Mahmoud the Weasel phoned in another tip?

[An Nahar] Israeli border guards rubbed out on Wednesday a Paleostinian teenager armed with a pistol in the West Bank city of Hebron, sparking stone-throwing attacks on troops in the area, police and witnesses said.

"A Paleostinian brandished a pistol as he approached a post of border guards, who opened fire and killed him," a police spokeswoman said.

Paleostinian sources named the gunman as Mohammed Ziad Salaima, aged 16, and witnesses said that Paleostinians began throwing stones at Israeli troops in the area following his death.

On Monday, Israeli troops killed a Paleostinian who wielded an axe following a traffic accident in the northern West Bank, police said.

Teachers at 1,200 schools in the southern Thailand have decided to suspend classes for two days following a spate of attacks by terrorists insurgents. The Confederation of Teachers in the Southern Border Provinces (CTSBP) decided to suspend classes after meeting school administrators Wednesday. The confederation called an urgent meeting with school administrators in the three southermost provinces yesterday after a fresh terrorist insurgent attack on teachers earlier this week.

On Tuesday, five armed men entered a school in Pattani and opened fire, killing the school director and a teacher. Last week, a teacher was also killed and another seriously wounded in attacks in Narathiwat.

Boonsom Srithongprai, the confederation chairman said security plans must be rolled out by Monday. The group also called for the transfer of both Muslim and Buddhist teachers in high-risk areas to safer locations. Schools are expected to resume class on Monday if the demands are met but teachers would take further action if nothing is done, Mr Boonsom said.

Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra said she will travel to Pattani today to gather information and give support to people affected by the violence. She will be briefed on the situation upon her arrival at Pattani City Hall this morning.

Meanwhile, a villager, Siteerohema Sama, 70, who was wounded in a tea shop attack in Narathiwat province a couple of days ago, has died, bringing the death toll from Tuesday's attack to six. A combined force of 60 security officers yesterday combed Rangae district to hunt for the gunmen. Sawawi Putae, 20, was caught in the raid after officials discovered he was wanted for the theft of a pickup truck on Oct 18 in Yala province. Authorities believe the vehicle was to be used to make a car bomb for a local attack.

[An Nahar] Explosions outside the Syrian interior ministry, including a boom-mobile, killed seven people and maimed 50 others on Wednesday, a security official said.

Interior Minister Mohammad al-Shaar and other top ranking officials escaped unharmed, state television... and if you can't believe state television who can you believe?
reported.

State news agency SANA said earlier that three bombs struck outside the ministry in the capital's southwestern district of Kfar Sousa, one of them a boom-mobile.

"Three terrorist kabooms, including one caused by a boom-mobile, struck the interior ministry in Kfar Sousa," SANA said. "Several people were killed and injured."

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said 25 people were killed and maimed.

Images from the scene broadcast by the pro-government al-Ikhbariya television channel showed piles of rubble, and blood on the ground.

The adjacent building housing the Egyptian embassy was also hit, Egypt's official MENA news agency reported.

"An embassy employee was injured, and the building was damaged," MENA quoted Egyptian diplomat Alaa Abdel Aziz as saying.

Several bombings have struck Damascus...The capital of Iran's Syrian satrapy... since an uprising against Hereditary President-for-Life Bashir Pencilneck al-AssadHorror of Homs...'s rule erupted in March last year, among them suicide kabooms.

Most blasts have targeted government and security buildings.

Earlier on Wednesday, two kabooms killed one person and maimed others in Damascus and a southeastern suburb of the capital, SANA reported.

[VOA News] A group of more than 100 nations calling for Syrian Hereditary President-for-Life Bashir Pencilneck al-AssadLord of the Baath... to step down has formally recognized a newly formed Syrian opposition coalition as the legitimate representative of the Syrian people.

In another development, a senior U.S. official says the Syrian government recently fired Scud missiles at jihad boys. There was no indication the missiles carried chemical weapons.

The use of Scud missiles could be seen as an escalation of the nearly two-year conflict in Syria, and it comes as more international favor has shifted toward the rebels.

"We want to accelerate the political transition in Syria to stop the bloodshed in this country," said Moroccan Foreign Minister Saadeddine el Othmani, host of the "Friends of Syria" conference in Marrakech that endorsed the opposition Syrian National Coalition.

A multi-volume chronology and reference guide set detailing three years of the Mexican Drug War between 2010 and 2012.

Rantburg.com and borderlandbeat.com correspondent and author Chris Covert presents his first non-fiction work detailing
the drug and gang related violence in Mexico.

Chris gives us Mexican press dispatches of drug and gang war violence
over three years, presented in a multi volume set intended to chronicle the death, violence and mayhem which has
dominated Mexico for six years.